Men’s Health editor-in-chief Richard Dorment made his first appointment since taking over the title a month ago, making an aggressive push into fashion with the hiring of Ted Stafford to be the fashion director.

At MH, Stafford’s going to be overseeing fashion, style, accessories and grooming coverage while also working with Esquire and Popular Mechanics on fashion coverage for the Hearst Men’s Group.

Men’s magazines have been hit hard by the ad recession, but Dorment thinks fashion is one area that demands more coverage. “In the real world, studies show men are spending more on fashion and grooming than ever before,” he said. He believes readers “are working out really hard, they want to look their best, and it’s up to us to help them complete that look.”

Hearst brought back longtime MH editor David Zinczenko to oversee the title for several issues on an interim basis before it landed Dorment, an Esquire veteran who had most recently been working for Wired.